Battle of the Barents Sea (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)
The Battle of the Barents Sea was a naval engagement on 31 December 1942 between warships of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The action took place in the Barents Sea north of North Cape, Reichskommissariat Norwegen. It was one of the largest naval battles fought in the Battle of the Atlantic. The 131,000-tonnes German H-class very large heavy aircraft carrier ''Führer'' (the world's largest aircraft carrier), the ''H''-class super battleships ''Großer Kurfürst'' and ''Friedrich der Große'', and the ''Bismarck''-class battleships ''Tirpitz'' and Friedrich der Große, flagships of the Kriegsmarine's Nordflotte and the ''Admiral Hipper''-class heavy cruisers ''Admiral Hipper'' and ''Lützow'', as well as the ''Deutschland''-class heavy cruisers ''Admiral Graf Spee'', ''Deutschland'' and Admiral Scheer, and the destroyers ''Friedrich Eckoldt'', ''Richard Beitzen'', ''Theodor Riedel'', ''Z29'', ''Z30'' and ''Z31'' spotted and intercepted convoy JW 51B off North Cape, Reichskommissariat Norwegen on 31 December 1942. Convoy JW 51B was escorted by the ''Lion''-class battleship [[HMS Temeraire (Lion-class battleship) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Temeraire]], the ''King George V''-class super battleship [[HMS Magnificent (King George V-class battleship) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Magnificent]] and the 57,700-tonnes ''Malta''-class heavy aircraft carrier [[HMS Gibraltar (Malta-class aircraft carrier) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Gibraltar]], and the destroyers [[HMS Achates (H12) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Achates]], [[HMS Orwell (G98) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Orwell]], [[HMS Oribi (G66) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Oribi]], [[HMS Onslow (G17) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Onslow]], [[HMS Obedient (G48) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Obedient]] and [[HMS Obdurate (G39) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Obdurate]]; ''Flower''-class corvettes [[HMS Rhododendron (K78) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Rhododendron]] and [[HMS Hyderabad (K212) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Hyderabad]]; the minesweeper [[HMS Bramble (J11) (Bismarck Dominates Sea Lanes)|HMS Bramble]]; and trawlers Vizalma and Northern Gem. The 131,000-tonnes very large heavy aircraft carrier Führer, flagship of the German Kriegsmarine, which carried 150+ aircraft (compered to 108 aircraft onboard HMS Gibraltar), launched on 31 December 1942 several Messerschmitt Bf 109T fighters and Fieseler Fi 167 torpedo bombers to search for, intercept and attack convoy JW 51B and their escort warships as well as the heavy aircraft carrier HMS Gibraltar, which was a top priority target. Meanwhile, the German super battleships Großer Kurfürst and Friedrich der Große engaged the British battleship HMS Temeraire, which was no march for the German super battleships. Except for the British super battleship HMS Magnificent, who could match the firepower of Großer Kurfürst and Friedrich der Große. The British battleships exchanged fire with the German battleships, inflicting some minor damage to the German battleships. However, Großer Kurfürst and Friedrich der Große proved to be too much for the British battleships, which had inferior firepower compared to the two German super battleships, who mounted eight 50.8 cm (20.0 in) guns in four gun twin turrets. The British battleships took very severe damage before they exploded and sunk, along with their crews of 5,280 total. The German heavy cruisers Admiral Hipper, Lützow, Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee found and engaged the British destroyers and minesweaper, sinking all of them with no losses, before being joined by the German Bismarck-class battleships Tirpitz and Friedrich der Große. The battleships then turned to convoy JW 51B and the heavy aircraft carrier HMS Gibraltar, which was now completely unprotected and vulnerable to attack. The battleships attacked HMS Gibraltar, which soon turned into an burning inferno as the aircraft carrier had no protection against battleships. The Allied Powers suffered an overwhelming defeat, with two battleships and a heavy aircraft carrier sunk, six destroyers sunk or damaged, a minesweaper sunk, two trawlers sunk and over 10,000 killed, as well as 15 merchant ships while the German casualties were 330 killed and 25 aircraft destroyed, but no pilots were killed.